Envelope construction



NOV. 2, 1937. 1 D ARP ET AL 2,097,505

ENVELOPE CONSTRUCTION Filed sept. 17, 1956 Fvggj. /al l /m 9 f/ Patented Nov. 2, 14937A UNiTEo sraras ENVELOPE CONSTRUCTION Leonard D'. Arp, Sherburne, and Walter H.

Fischer, Pipestone, Minn.

Application september 17, 1936, seria1N0.101,262

4 Claims.

Our invention relates to stationery and particularly to mailing envelopes.

With the usual form of mailing envelope having a gummed flap for closing the same, the recipient thereof usually considers the most convenient method of opening the envelope to be that of applying a paper knife or letter opener thereto. With such method of opening it is quite common for the contents of the envelope to become damaged by the letter opening knife. In the absence of a letter opening knife, recourse to use of the ngers in opening a conventional type of envelope usually renders the envelope wrinkled and raggedly torn.

The general object of our invention is to provide a form of mailing envelope which is arranged for eective sealing thereof in the manner of the conventional envelope and which is of construction enabling easy and rapid opening without recourse to a letter opening knife and yet without wrinkling or raggedly tearing the envelope.

A more specific object is to provide an envelope wherein the folded material at an edge thereof is weakened to facilitate tearing along the line of such edge.

Another object is to provide such an envelope wherein the material of which the same is formed is re-inforced in portions bordering the weakened line so as to effectively conne tearing to the weakened line.

Still another object is to provide such an envelope having small openings therein positioned to render the respective portions of the envelope material at opposite sides of the weakened line individually accessible to the fingers of a user whereby tearing along the weakened line may be easily started.

A further object is to provide such an envelope of simple, inexpensive and easily produced construction.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:-

Fig. l is a front view of an envelope incorporating an embodiment of our invention and shown as the same appears when closed,

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the envelope of Fig. 1 shown as it appears before folding of the flap thereof,

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 Aas indicated by the arrows and Fig. 4 is a partial rear View of a slightly different embodiment of our invention.

Referring to the drawing, an embodiment of our invention/ is shown as incorporated in an envelope E which is otherwise of conventional construction. The envelope E consists of `a suitably shaped sheet of material such as paper folded along fold lines I, 2, 3, and 4 toformrthe usual end flaps 5, bottom flap 6, top or sealing flap I and front portion 8. The end iiaps 5 are secured to the bottom flap E to form a back portion of the envelope in accordance with common practice and the free edge marginal portion of the sealing ap 1 is provided on its inner side with the usual coating 'Ia of adhesive material.

In accordance with our invention the envelope material is weakened along one of the edges or fold-lines thereof as by providing a line or series la. of closely spaced perforations extending along the selected one of the fold lines or by other comparable means. While such weakening may be applied along any desired one of the respective fold lines I, 2, 3, and 4, I have shown the fold line I as the line along which the envelope material is weakened.

The portions of the envelope material disposed closely adjacent to and extending along the weakened fold line in parallelrelation thereto are reinforced by suitable means such as reinforcing strips 9 secured to the inner side of the envelope material by suitable means such as an adhesive.

Means is provided for affording access to portions of the envelope material at the respective sides of the line Ia of perforations independently of each other whereby a user may grip said respective accessible portions of the envelope material with fingers of his respective hands. To this end apertures I0 are provided'in the envelope material at opposite sides of the line Ia of perforations and defined, in part, by the line la. The respective apertures I0 adjoin relatively closely adjacent respective portions of the medial part of the line la; and are preferably of semicircular shape as shown in Fig. 2. The respective apertures may adjoin longitudinally spaced respective portions of the line lai, as the apertures Ill shown in Fig. 2, or may adjoin immediately adjacent portions, as apertures II shown in Fig. 4. The apertures I I, shown in Fig. 4, are such as would be produced in part by an S-shaped cut in the envelope material and in part by a cut or tear along the line Iw of perforations. Where the apertures I or Il appear, the reinforcing strips 9 are, of

course, correspondingly apertured.

In use of our envelope described above, the same is sealed in the same manner as any conventional envelope. In opening our envelope, the portions of the envelope material at respective sides of the line la. of perforations registering with the respective apertures I0 or I I are each grasped between the forenger and thumb of one of the respective hands of the user Whereafter suitable relative movements of the hands will tear the sealing flap 'I from the front portion of the envelope E along the medial portion of the line laof perforations. The fingers may then be inserted into the interior of the envelope E through the slit thus made for the purposeV of extending this slit by tearing the material along the line la of perforations to the respective ends thereof to complete the opening of the envelope E.

Obviously, opening of our envelope in the above described manner does not require the use of a letter opening knife and cannot damage the contents of the envelope. Furthermore the envelope, after having been opened, has no ragged torn edges and need not become appreciably wrinkled.

It is apparent that We have invented a novel, useful, simple, inexpensive and desirable form of mailing envelope having the advantages described above.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts may be made, without departing from the scope of our invention, which generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth and in the novel parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:- Y

1. A sheet of material folded to form a mailing Y ing removed to expose a corresponding portion of the inner side of said rst Wall.

. 2. The structure dened in claim 1, and said respective corresponding portions being closely adjacent eachother.

3. The structure dened in claim 1 and said respective corresponding portions being immediately adjacent each other.

4. The structure defined in claim 1, and the respective portions removed from said walls being dened by said edge and a suitably located gen# erally S-shape-d cut in said sheet.

LEONARD D. ARP. WALTER H. FISCHER. 

